The invention relates to machines for brewing coffee, tea, hot chocolate and/or other hot beverages. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in machines of the type wherein a housing supports or confines a container for a supply of liquid (such as water or milk), a preferably electric heater which can raise the temperature of liquid, a filter holder which can receive a relatively large supply of comminuted coffee beans, comminuted tea leaves or another flavoring agent, and a riser or other suitable means for conveying heated liquid from the heater to the filter holder so that the heated liquid contacts the flavoring agent and the resulting hot beverage can issue from the holder by way of a suitable opening when such opening is not sealed by a gate. The housing is normally provided with a base or support (e.g., an electrically heatable warming plate) for a vessel (such as a coffee pot, a carafe or a cup) which receives hot beverage from the interior of the filter holder when the opening is exposed.
Machines of the above outlined character come in all sizes and shapes. For example, a relatively large coffee or tea brewing machine will be designed to brew eight, ten or twelve cupfuls of coffee or tea, and a relatively small machine will be designed to brew two cupfuls. This depends on the capacity of the liquid container and on the capacity of the filter holder, i.e., on the quantity of comminuted coffee beans or tea leaves or another flavoring agent which can be admitted into the filter holder to be contacted by heated liquid. Conventional machines operate quite satisfactorily as long as they are set up to furnish at least two cupfuls of a hot beverage; however, the quality (especially the temperature) of the hot beverage is much less satisfactory or totally unsatisfactory if a conventional machine is used to brew a single cupful of coffee, tea or another hot beverage. Thus, the beverage which is made in such small quantities is tepid when it issues from the machine so that it cannot be enjoyed by a person who is accustomed to a piping hot or to an at least reasonably hot beverage.